((Tis clear enough my dear! Sort of went with a perspective shift and left the ending ambiguous.))
-Gladio-
He glared at the pages of the book when the lines go out of
focus for the fifth time that morning. This was starting to get on his nerves. With
a huff, he closes it and sets it beside him, leaning forward in his seat to
rest his head against the chair in front of him. He’d like to distract himself
from the long car ride with a book, but no. Instead his mind returns to the
phone in his pocket.
It was on silent, but he knew that by the time they stopped
for the night, there might be a text waiting for him to read. Maybe more if
they had a particularly exciting day. Or, even worse, there would be nothing. ‘They’
referring to the one he had been parted from by his responsibility.
They were a hunter they’d encountered at the Prairie Outpost,
and one that he’d ended up falling for. They’d first met when they volunteered
to take them to Cor at the ancient tomb after Insomnia fell. From there, Cor
suggested they could use an extra hand for the trip down into the second tomb
and then to Lestallum, and they’d agreed to go with them. Upon arriving, they’d
stayed when he’d invited them to, taking the four on hunts and showing them the
ins and outs of the trade upon realizing they had little idea of how to track
the creatures they’d be fighting.
Travelling together had worked for a time. And as time
passed, his feelings of comradery had taken a step toward attraction. Which was
mutual he soon discovered. And before they both had known it, three months had
passed with them fighting side by side. But their nature was capricious, and
they were used to going where the wind took them. (One of the things he loved
about them really.) So expecting them to stay with the group had been a foolish
expectation. That they had stayed for as long as they had was a miracle in
itself.
They’d left with only a note for him in their wake and an
apology text later that day.
And now? He was frustrated. Being on the road and watching
all their back’s didn’t really leave much time for him to take care of anything
else really. Even when he read, he was well aware of his surroundings.
Something he knew he wouldn’t be able to do if he was texting them. Because he
was worried about them. Truly. Working so closely with them had allowed him to
see their weaknesses, their gaps in their defense. Though he’d try to work on
those weaknesses with them, there was still a fear buzzing around in the back
of his mind that they’d slip up. And it’d be their tags he’d be forced to find
one day. His thought’s would revolve around them instead of keeping the prince
safe.
But lately, it was bordering on the
fourth month after their departure, he worried of another thing all together.
They’d used to text him almost every hour if they could. A status update he’d
appreciated at the time. He’d leave it on read until they stopped for the night
and he could message them his own update. And they’d make time to call one
another at least once a week. However, they soon found out neither really had
the time, or the energy really, to keep up with one another so far apart. He
was always on the move and needed his rest. And with them being on their own,
they’d always needed to keep an eye on their own back to make sure they were
safe. There was no time for talking with one another.
But they’d at least text him
something every day. Or they used to. It was getting less and less frequent
now. Which brought him back to why he was distracted. The lack of contact. Did
it mean anything? Were they finally at the end of their relationship? Did they
even still think of him as he thought of them? He was too scared to ask. Not
only that, but he couldn’t figure out how to start the conversation in the
first place.
“We’re here.”
His head snapped up at Ignis’
voice, and he mentally cursed himself when he saw that the car was parked and
the others were already climbing out. Distracted. Exactly what he was afraid of
being when he thought about them. He pushed his hand through his hair as he got
out of the car, reorienting his thoughts for the coming hunt.
“Right…So what’re we after again?”
Prompto asked, yawning away the last dregs of sleep.
“Something big and ugly if I
recall.” Ignis said. His voice was deadpan as he began walking to where the
entrance to the Malmalam Thicket would be. “Come along then. The sooner this is
done the sooner we can get back to civilization.”
He said that last part as
motivation for the Prince to catch up with them. Something that made Gladio
snort and finally bring him fully back to the present. When they’re actually in
the thicket, his phone goes off. One glance at the screen tells him it’s them,
and he’s forced to press ignore even though them calling was rare. He missed
their voice. So to himself he promised he’d call them back once this is over. He
then turns off his phone so he wouldn’t be tempted to answer if they called
again.
~
On the other line, they brought
the phone down from their ear, and brush away the tears in their eyes quietly
when their call suddenly gets sent to voicemail. How they wished he’d answered.
They hung up on the call before leaving a message, and then leaned back against
the tree they sat against. Honestly, at that moment, they felt alone. Too
alone.
They knew that they’d been distant
lately. But they’d been working. Living from hunt to hunt wasn’t easy, no. But
lately, it was more of an honor thing among them all to take on more work.
Especially the higher ranks. Daemon specific hunts were getting more and more
common. High risk, low reward. But…none of them could turn their backs on those
hunts. Especially not Slayers and up.
Anyone who was a lower than rank 5
wasn’t allowed to go after daemons, which took away most of their numbers. Most
hunters, truthfully, only did hunts to supplement their income with their
earnings, having other jobs to fall back on. They made up the majority and most
of them were all lower ranks. Not like the others.
The others, like them, were often
people who wandered from place to place, living off successful hunts and going
hungry the nights they weren’t. They were often in the higher ranks, just from
the sheer amount of work they undertook. And they all were trying to stem the
daemons as much as they could. But the nights were getting longer and the
higher ranks were losing their lives at such a high rate, they would soon be
forced to revise who was allowed to go on hunts, and maybe even implement regulation
for the hunters to hunt in a group. It was that dangerous these days.
And this time they may have bitten
off more than they could chew themself.
With a groan they shifted into a
better position at the base of the tree, a large gash on their lower back
making moving difficult. They were cold, and they were tired. But…They owed it
to him to at least leave a message. Even…even if he didn’t feel for them what
they felt for him.
They hit the redial button on
their phone, and waited. They tried not to feel too hurt by the fact their call
went straight to voicemail this time, and waited for the recording to start.
“…” For the first few moments,
they could think of nothing to stay, and their sleepiness was catching up to
them. So they went with simple.
“Gladio. Hey,” They began, “So…I
miss you first off. And I know I’ve been busy…”
Into their message they explained
that they missed him, that they were unsure about what he felt. They questioned
if he saw them as a fling or not, stating that they didn’t. They had seen a
future with him, maybe not in great detail, but it was impossible to picture a
future without him. But they said it didn’t matter now. They explained their
recent absence from their texts. They explained the situation with the hunters.
And they explained their injury. They had to end the call after that, not
wanting to risk calling more attention to themself. It was, after all, the
middle of the night.
“…And…If you find my tags…Just know that I
love you.”
Imagine Final Fantasy 